Solar cells, or photovoltaic cells, have the ability to convert sunlight directly into electricity. Conventional solar cells are approximately 15 percent efficient in converting absorbed light into electricity. Concentrated photovoltaic cells have the ability to capture more of the electromagnetic spectrum and are thus more efficient, converting absorbed light into electricity at about 30 percent efficiency. In order to capture the maximum amount of sunlight during the day, a tracker is connected to the photovoltaic cells and continuously aligns the light-absorbing panels of the photovoltaic cells in a direction perpendicular to rays from the sun so that the photovoltaic cells may absorb the highest amount of energy from the rays of sunlight. This is particularly important for high performance solar panels having concentrated photovoltaic cells.
To effectively absorb energy from the sun, numerous photovoltaic cells are typically positioned on a solar panel to capture an increased amount of sunlight. The photovoltaic cells are attached together on the panel with refractive or reflective optical lenses arranged above them to focus the sunlight. One problem with currently available concentrators is that if one of the photovoltaic cells is defective or damaged, the entire solar panel could become inoperable or be damaged. Conventional concentrating photovoltaic panels require dual axis tracking to collect the direct beam portion of solar irradiation. The ability to go to large concentration ratios (>50 suns) is limited by the tracking accuracy. The need for accurate tracking further limits the size of concentrator panels that may be mounted on a single tracker.
Furthermore, while the concentrators increase the efficiency of the solar cell system, improper handling of the concentrators during the installation, assembly, and maintenance of the solar panel can result in hazardous conditions. For example, operators handling the concentrators may be harmed if directly exposed to light, in the form of a high intensity beam, reflected from one of the concentrators. In other circumstances, light from the concentrators may also create a hazardous condition if the light is concentrated on flammable material positioned either in, or in close proximity with, the photovoltaic cells.